Restaurant Overview: La Condesa

3320 Airport Highway, Boca Raton; 561/931-4008

Mexico’s daring, colourful and full of life tradition is mirrored in its delicacies, and it’s evident at La Condesa. What was as soon as a dimly lit, stark Irish pub has been revamped into a recent, shiny area with delicate Mexican particulars. The out of doors patio, ethereal bar and spacious inside have been all buzzing the mid-week night I visited. It was thrilling to see our neighborhood embrace this family-owned enterprise, which debuted its tackle Mexican fare a couple of 12 months in the past.

Our first cease into our Mexican meals journey have been the margaritas. Tequila lovers will discover a powerful selection for each palate. I began with the jalapeño margarita ($14.99). It introduced the warmth however didn’t linger, and completed with refreshing citrus notes, which I loved. Non-tequila fans have loads of choices, together with mojitos, beers, wines and different specialty tropical cocktails.

The menu is sizable, with a big selection of standard dishes like nachos, avenue tacos and burritos. Whereas a plethora of on-line evaluations function testaments that diners have loved them, I needed to strive Mexican plates that maybe haven’t made it mainstream but. So, we traded taquitos and guacamole for goat cheese jalapeños ($12) and La Condesa tostadas ($12) and entrees like fajitas and quesadillas for the mole cazuelitas ($18.99). I did see that the guac is ready tableside, permitting you to customise precisely what you need in it.

The second we sat down, a basket of heat, crispy tortilla chips hit our desk with a spicy salsa that enthusiastically sneaked up on our palate. The tostadas (two per order) are handmade corn tortillas with melted Oaxaca cheese which are then topped with tender steak, pico de gallo, avocado and lettuce. The meat was bursting with taste, and the avocado gave the dish a creamy texture that complemented the tortilla’s crunchiness. The jalapeños, which have been hollowed out and devoid of their spicy white seeds and ribs after which sauteed till blistered, have been then full of creamy goat cheese. The mellowed-out peppers nonetheless have a touch of spice, however the cheese, balsamic glaze and cilantro garlic salsa do a wonderful job of softening it.

Mole, thought-about Mexico’s nationwide dish, is a sort of sauce. Nonetheless, relying on the place you might be or who you’re speaking to, it may are available in many variations. Primarily consisting of nuts, seeds, chili peppers, dried spices and even dried fruit, it’s bought in huge mounds of grounded powder that may then be made into the thick sauce. It’s often used to decorate meats, and within the mole cazuelitas it’s generously poured throughout hen strips, giving the dish layered notes of smokiness, sweetness and a lightweight spice.

We ended the meal on a candy be aware with a typical Mexican dessert: the churro ($6.99). Heat and crispy, it was dusted with cinnamon and sugar and drizzled with honey and chocolate. Its identify, which is an elegant and trendy Mexico Metropolis neighborhood, additionally interprets to “countess,” and La Condesa’s pleasant workers undoubtedly offers its patrons the royal therapy.

IF YOU GO

PARKING: Parking zone
HOURS: Mon.–Thurs., 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. Fri. –Sat., 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. Solar., 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
PRICES: $10.50 – $42
WEBSITE: lacondesamexican.com

This text is from the Might/June 2023 problem of Boca journal. For extra like this, click on right here to subscribe to the journal.